Simply final week, Gauff grew to become the youngest tennis participant within the Open period — which started in 1968, when tournaments first allowed professionals to compete in opposition to amateurs — to qualify for Wimbledon’s foremost occasion.

Gauff has praised Williams and her sister, Serena Williams, who has seven Wimbledon titles of her personal, as her private idols.

“I’ve been dreaming to share the court with Venus,” she stated in an interview earlier than the match.

Nonetheless in highschool, Gauff is the 12th youngest participant to ever play within the event. The opposite 11 entered via direct entry fairly than qualifying.

“I’m still in shock,” she instructed a reporter after qualifying on Thursday. “Last year I did not think I would be here, so it means a lot.”

Along with her win, Gauff continues to make historical past.

“It’s crazy that people call me the next this, next that,” she instructed the BBC when requested about being seen as the way forward for tennis. “I’m just trying to be me.”

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